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my snake won't eat

M

mammaAS

New member
Hi. I'm new here. We bought a snake for my daughter for her birthday. I am the caretaker of the snake (his name is chuckie) He is a great snake, he has a wonderful personality. He has never struck at anyone and is very patient when my daughter wants to hold him.
I really love him, which to most people sounds weird but he is awesome! I give him fresh water every day, I chance his bedding (aspen) every week, I have a climbing branch and a hollow log in his cage, I have a heating pad and always make sure his cage is between 80 and 85 degrees, and I take him out 1 or 2 times a day for some interaction and exercise.
Here is the problem. He WON'T eat. I continue to offer him food every thursday but it has been almost 2 months since we got him and he has never eaten. I have a book on corn snakes that recommended waving the pinky mouse in front of the snake (which I did), it says to cut the head open so the snake can smell it (I did that many times), I even tried cutting the pinky into pieces. Nothing. I told the guy at the pet store and he said that he has a corn snake that sometimes goes 3 months without eating but that did not ease my concerns at all. I am getting really worried about him. He is still active and he still plans his escape for about an hour every evening LOL but I would feel much better if he would eat.
Does anyone have any suggestions? When do I really need to worry? Should I take him to a vet?
 
Was he eating frozen thawed when you got him an how old is he? An adult can go awhile, but a younger snake needs to eat maybe try a live pinkie and give him a rest on handling you may be stressing him. Also as long as you spot clean his poo the aspen can stay in his cage for a month or so and will make him feel safe smelling like "his" home. You can also soak a f/t pinkie in tuna or chicken juice to scent it, make sure the pinkie is really warm, don't try and watch him eat, and leave the pink overnight putting him and the pink in a smaller container and putting the container in your cage overnight- just make sure the container has holes.
 
He has been getting thawed frozen pinky mice. I have tried feeding him in his own cage as well as a smaller cage. I was putting the smaller cage on top of his regular one but I will try putting it inside (thanks for the suggestion) He is a baby, that is why I am worried he is about 15 inches. At the pet store (petco) they told us that they fed their snakes frozen (thawed) pinky mice and that was what they recommended. I will try soaking it in tuna water and try putting the smaller cage inside his. I will also give him a break from being held and hold off on cleaning out his cage. The only reason I was doing those things was because they were advised in the book I read, but I am so worried about him I am willing to try anything to get him to eat!
 
Also, I have tried all sorts of different things with feeding. I have left the light on, turned it off, his cage, smaller cage, us in the room, at night with the room empty, in the morning with us there, in the morning without us there, during his "active" time.
 
What I would do is put him in a deli cup with the mouse, and then put the deli cup in the secured viv and leave it in there for a minimum of 1 hour, but it would be better if you left him in there overnight. Make sure it's dark, too. It worked wonders with my Black Milk when he refused to eat.
Danielle was correct in saying that the handling might be stressing him out. Once he's feeding regularly, i'd say only handle him 3 times a week or so. Definitely give him 48-72 hours after eating to handle him as well.
 
Ok, lets go back to basics, seeing as you've tried lots of different things already :)

1. don't handle the snake for 2 to 3 days, I would normally recommend a settling in period of 5 to 7 days after aquiring a new snake, but he hasn't eaten in a while, so we'll shorten it a bit.
2. at dusk, defrost a pinky in hot water from the tap, place snake in a small, escape proof container, ie a deli cup or margarine tub (thoroughly washed) with some air holes for him to breath.
3. dunk defrosted pink in very hot water for a couple of seconds, then gently drop the pink in the small container with the hatchling, trying not to disturb him too much, close the lid, pop the container in the snakes tank, not on the heat source and leave until morning without peeking.
4. check on snake in the morning and hopefully you will find him with a nice plump belly and you can gently tip him out into his cage, so he can go off to digest :)
5. do NOT handle the snake for at least 3 days after feeding, if he feeds and for the first few weeks, until he has established a good feeding routine.

If he doesn't feed, then repeat all of the above about 5 days later, but also cut a slit in the head of the pinky, to release some brain juice (sorry if that sounds a little nasty, but it's the best way to describe it :eek: )
If that doesn't work, then you could try all of the above and dip the pink in tuna water, or chicken broth.

With each feeding attempt, you should only change one thing, so as not to confuse or over stress the baby and remember to cut out all handling and disturbances until he's feeding successfully. You have many years to get to know each other, but he needs to get feeding first and foremost :)

Also double check your cage temps, they should be in the low to mid 70's on the cool side and low to mid 80's on the warm side. This ideally should be measured with a digital probe thermometer, with the probe placed directly over the heat mat, under the substrate, as this will be the hottest place he can get to. You should also have at least two hides in the tank, one on the cool end and one on the warm end (although you can place several in both ends so he can choose his favourite) and they should be quite a tight fit for him, they love to feel the hide actually touching them, it makes them feel more secure and he may then feel more comfortable about eating for you :)

I hope that's been a bit of help, don't be afraid to come back for more info if/when you need it :)
 
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Thank you so much for all you help! I am going to get started soon. Maybe his feeding cage is too big, I hadn't thought about that until I heard suggestions to put him in a small container. I had also never heard of dipping the pinky in tuna. I will post again soon, hopefully he will have a nice big mouse belly by then!
 
You want him to be crowded in the feeding container with the pink, so he can't turn away and forget it's there. Even the rectangular Gladwares, the smallest size, are too big for a baby snake unless it's a crazy feeder.

In addition to what Sue says, the first thing I'd try is just washing the pink in mild dish soap. Some people use Ivory, some people use Dawn. And then rinsing.
 
WAY too big for a baby until he's a perfect established feeder:
 

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This is an adult in the same size container as the one above. Typically my adults are in slightly bigger containers, but this is what you want to do with a problem feeder.
 

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Sue and Nanci have you covered well here, follow what they say and your little guy should be chowing down in no time..GOOD LUCK!
 
Great photos Nanci! The suggestion to wash the pink is also good, there are quite a few people over here that are having great success with that :)

Good luck mammaAS!
 
Thank you so much guys. I am learning so much! The book I read didn't say anything about container size. I will update soon!
 
OK. I thawed a pinky mouse and then let it sit in hot water till it was warm to the touch. I drilled holes in a little container and put it on the cool side of his cage. I cut the pinky's head open (as suggested I didn't change too much and I had been doing that before) I put the pinky in the container and then I put chuckie in. I am not feeling good about this. He seemed stressed out when I put him in. I am also getting more and more worried about him. Yesterday and today he didn't come out at all which is really unusual for him. I know he really needs to eat, I am really hoping this works. Wish us luck!
 
I don't know. His eyes haven't looked foggy and his skin doesn't look any different but this is my 1st snake and I don't really know what to look for (other than what I've read) Will he not eat if he is shedding? I'm worried that he is losing his strength because it has been so long since he has had anything to eat.
 
The initial stage, when they often refuse food(if it happens to be feeding time & shed time) you may not see a difference. Then the skin starts to look different, but on some morphs it may be hard to tell, our R.O. barely looks different at all, most people can not tell she is in shed. Next the eyes "blue" or cloud over, again different amounts of clouding, more noticeable with some than others. Next the eyes will clear, then with in a few days to a week or so, they will shed.

So it is quite the process, and depending on the age of your snake, it take more or less time for the whole process. Give your dude a break, leave the snake alone, no handling for at least 4 days, just in case it is feeling stressed and keep looking at it for signs of the shed process. If it is in shed, then do not attempt another feed until your snake sheds. Some will eat in shed, some won't and if yours shows to be in shed in the next few days, then you know yours won't eat in shed.

Hope this helps.

Tisha
 
Hey everyone,
I've posted a similar problem to this in a different thread and also got lots of help, so thats something to look at mamaAS. Also thanks for the photos nanci, a lot of help because we haven't thought about the size either- like you mamaAS we have a book and it didn't say anything about the size of the feeding box. We got a feeding box from the breeder and like mamaAS says the snake got distressed when put in it so we tried a bigger box, but it seems from these pictures it was the right size. So you think we should try it again?
 
Tisha, you must be quite the snake expert! He shed yesterday. I had no idea! I am going to give him a few more days before I try again. He has been back to his normal escape planning self today. Thank you so much (everyone) for your help. I will post again in a few day, hopefully we will have some feeding success!
 
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